The United States starts its World Cup qualifying schedule as it is a eight team hexagonal for the first time in CONCACAF Final Round history. It will be a rigorous schedule as there will be four ‘triple dates’ consisting of three matches during a seven-day window. There will be 14 matches to be played which makes things even more difficult. Outside of the U.S., these seven other nations made the final round: Canada, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Jamaica, Panama, and Mexico. In this first set of matches, the U.S. will play El Salvador, Canada, and Honduras with the only home match being against Canada. That being said, let's preview the World Cup qualifying final round.
More Teams, More Chances To Qualify
While playing against seven other nations makes things more rigorous and even more difficult, it actually gives the U.S. more opportunities to qualify. So hypothetically, even if they lose against a side like Mexico or Jamaica, they can make up for those losses playing other nations. Essentially, the margin for error isn't as small as it was before. Hopefully it doesn't come down to a last week situation to qualify, but it certainly helps to have more opportunities to earn points in the table.
What's The Competition Going To Be Like?
CONCACAF is one of the most physical confederations so with more nations involved there will be more physicality. Essentially there should be an expectation for more injuries to occur and a lot of bumps and bruises. Now in terms of the quality of the confederation, some nations have gotten stronger and some have been on a downward track. Mexico is clearly the strongest side the U.S. will face and those will be highly anticipated matches as it's a massive rivalry, however, the U.S. has seemingly managed to win against Mexico this year and that could play a big role in momentum. Canada, Jamaica, and El Salvador have improved massively and could give the U.S. a lot of fits including Canada as they had the USMNT play down to the wire in the Gold Cup. Honduras, Panama, and Costa Rica have been on a downward trend as they aren't as strong as they were four years ago and that will certainly play a factor, however, that doesn't mean it will be an easy three points.
Crowds Play A Big Factor
It's never easy to travel to another country and play against any nation at their home stadium, but with the Covid-19 pandemic limiting some countries to having smaller amount of fans than normal or even any at all, it's an advantage for the U.S. They will have more chances to communicate better and know that their opponent doesn't have the crowd to back them up so the momentum will be on the USMNT side.
Rotational Lineups
Three matches in seven days is going to be very tiresome for all the nations in this competition so it all comes down to depth. The hope is the players that Berhalter has brought in will provide the necessary depth for them to compete. It also gives other players opportunities to play and see what they can do as this is also a tryout for the 2022 World Cup squad. So for the players like Matt Turner, Konrad de la Fuente, Ricardo Pepi, and Miles Robinson, it will be their time to shine.
Qualifying Schedule
Game 1: at El Salvador
Game 2: vs Canada
Game 3: at Honduras
Game 4: vs Jamaica
Game 5: at Panama
Game 6: vs Costa Rica
Game 7: vs Mexico
Game 8: at Jamaica
Game 9: vs El Salvador
Game 10: at Canada
Game 11: vs Honduras
Game 12: at Mexico
Game 13: vs Panama
Game 14: at Costa Rica
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